Around 750 new laws are about to take effect in Texas, and they are set to bring sweeping changes to the state’s education systems, water infrastructure and more.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed 1,155 bills that came out of the regular legislative session, including over 200 laws that went into effect immediately such as the school cellphone ban, the abortion ban clarification, property tax cut and increased oversight over the energy grid. Meanwhile, some won’t activate until next year or until voters approve constitutional amendments in November, such as stricter bail policies and a $3 billion dementia research fund. Most, however, will start on Sept. 1, the traditional date for laws passed during the regular session.
Here are some notable measures that will soon take effect:
Senate Bill 1 lays out the state’s new $338 billion two-year spending plan, with over 70% of the budget being reserved for education and health and human services. Some notable parts include spending to maintain and provide property tax cuts, a new school voucher program, additional funding for public schools, as well as investments in the state’s energy, water and broadband infrastructure.
The plan also initially included a $60 million measure that would have let Texas enter a federal summer lunch program for low-income kids, but Abbott vetoed it due to “significant uncertainty regarding federal matching rates for this and other similar programs.”
Senate Bill 2 will create one of the country’s largest school voucher programs, allowing parents to pay for their children’s accredited private school tuition or other education-related expenses with public tax dollars. In most cases, each child will receive just over $10,000 per year, though students with disabilities could receive up to $30,000 in additional funding. Wealthier families with children already in private schools could also participate.
Texas can spend up to $1 billion during its upcoming two-year budget cycle, though the program’s cost could rise significantly afterwards.
The law’s passage followed years of fighting between GOP lawmakers, who framed the issue as providing school choice to parents, and Democrats and rural Republicans who said vouchers would harm public schools. Abbott threw his weight behind the effort to elect more pro-voucher Republicans and succeeded last year. SB 2 takes effect on Sept. 1, but the voucher program itself isn’t expected to launch until the 2026-27 school year.
House Bill 2 will provide about $8.5 billion in new money to public schools, as districts across the state tackle long-running challenges following years of stagnant funding. From this pot, more than $4 billion will go toward raising educator’s pay. The additional dollars will also be used for educator preparation, special education, safety requirements and early childhood learning.
Senate Bill 10 will require the visible display of the Ten Commandments on donated posters that are at least 16 by 20 inches in public school classrooms, which are attended by around 5.5 million students in Texas. While supporters said Christian teachings are important to understanding American history, critics said this law undermines the separation of church and state. Such laws have already faced legal challenges in Texas and other states. They include an Aug. 20 ruling from U.S. District Judge Fred Biery, which temporarily blocks the measure from taking effect for nearly a dozen school districts including Austin, Houston and Plano.
“This issue is likely to get to the United States Supreme Court,” Biery said prior to the case’s opening statements in San Antonio. Texas is expected to appeal his ruling.
Senate Bill 12 will extend the ban on diversity, equity and inclusion policies to K-12 schools. In particular, it will prohibit school districts from factoring race, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation into hiring decisions. It will also bar schools from offering instructions, programs and guidance that focus on sexual orientation or gender identity, including sponsoring student clubs such as Gender and Sexuality Alliance. The law’s backers said the legislation gives parents more control over their children’s education, while critics said it targets and censors marginalized groups, such as LGBTQ students. Some civil rights groups including the ACLU of Texas have vowed to fight the law in court.
Senate Bill 13 will give parents and school boards more power over what students can access in public school libraries. These boards can also delegate this oversight process if 50 parents in the same district sign a petition for the creation of a local school advisory council. Supporters said the law will protect students from inappropriate content and give parents more control over what their children consume, while critics said it will lead to increased censorship of certain topics such as gender and race. Texas was already among the top states for book bans in recent years, according to PEN America.
Senate Bill 37 will give politically appointed regents more power over public universities, including by granting them more say over the hiring of administrators, as well as over some responsibilities that were traditionally held by faculty members. It will also create an office that can investigate universities for failures to comply with state laws, such as regarding DEI initiatives. The law’s backers said it is needed to tackle what they consider to be liberal bias in universities and better align them with Texas’ workforce demands. Critics, however, said the law will threaten academic freedom and undermine research.
House Bill 33, authored by Republican state Rep. Don McLaughlin who was mayor during the Uvalde school shooting, will require law enforcement agencies across Texas to establish crisis response policies. Among several changes, the law will compel school districts and local law enforcement to meet annually in order to assess their emergency operations plans, resources and capabilities. It will mandate law enforcement agencies and emergency medical service providers to complete training programs on how to respond to active shooters at primary and secondary schools. And following an actual shooting, these responders will also have to file a report detailing and evaluating their actions within several months to facilitate faster public access to information.
Senate Bill 7 will create a framework for funding water projects through the Texas Water Development Board and providing oversight over them, amid a broad effort to tackle the state’s looming water crisis. Certain sections of the law would take effect in September 2027, if voters approve the constitutional amendment outlined by House Joint Resolution 7 in November. This ballot measure, if accepted, would allocate $1 billion each year from the state’s sales and use tax revenue to the Texas Water Fund between 2027 and 2047.
Senate Bill 15, which received mixed support from both parties, will allow for certain single-family homes to be built on smaller lots. In particular, the law will ban big cities from requiring these homes to sit on more than 3,000 square feet of land, if they are being constructed in a new subdivision that is at least five acres in size. This is a drop from the 5,000 to 7,500 square feet of land that are commonly required in Texas’ largest cities — except for Houston — according to a Texas Tribune analysis. While some lawmakers were wary about interfering in local control over the issue, supporters said the change will allow cities to build more housing and keep costs down.
Senate Bill 17 will ban governments, companies and individuals who legally reside in China, North Korea, Russia and Iran from owning land and properties in Texas. The governor also has the authority to add countries or entities to the list. The prohibition doesn’t apply to U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The law’s backers said this is about protecting resources and national security from hostile nations, while critics said SB 17 is discriminatory and will lead to racial profiling.
Senate Bill 33 will ban cities or counties from using their money to support residents seeking abortions outside Texas. The law followed Austin City Council’s appropriation of $400,000 last year to help such individuals, prompting lawsuits from Attorney General Ken Paxton and a former council member. San Antonio City Council also allocated $500,000 for a reproductive justice fund in 2023, though it ended up not being used for abortion-related initiatives following a private lawsuit and much debate. It then approved $100,000 in April for abortion-related travel, which was temporarily blocked after Paxton sued.
House Bill 46 will expand the state’s medical marijuana program to include patients with chronic pain, traumatic brain injury and Crohn’s disease. Physicians will also be able to prescribe inhalation via vaporized and aerosol products, such as vapes. This expansion will take effect while the Texas Legislature contemplates whether to regulate or ban hemp-derived THC products.
House Bill 229 will define man and woman based on biological reproductive systems and apply that definition across the state code. Government entities collecting vital statistics information will also have to use it. The law’s backers said this is needed to protect women’s rights and align with executive orders declaring that there are only two sexes. Critics said the law erases trans people from state records in Texas, home to one of the country’s largest trans communities.
Senate Bill 835, titled “Trey’s Law,” will ban and void the use of nondisclosure agreements in sexual assault and human trafficking cases. The law’s name honors Trey Carlock, who signed an NDA after being abused as a child by a camp counselor. He died by suicide in 2019. His sister, Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, testified in support of the legislation.
Disclosure: ACLU Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
By Alex Nguyen, The Texas Tribune.